Hanging by a Thread
by Iris Hanson
Summary: Max and the flock have finally saved the world from Itex Industries. But when Max receives her expiration date, what happens with the drama that follows? And also, the School isn't the only one out there, who's rising out of their ashes?
1. Chapter 1

"Max!" I hear Iggy yell from across the house.

"What?" I yell back with an annoyed tone in my voice, hoping he'll catch it. The Flock has been so annoying lately, and I was on the verge of exploding. Literally.

"The girls won't stop signing!" he informs me. "Oh! You should hear the language they're using!" That has me grumbling and trudging up the stairs. This is not how I want to spend my Saturday. Once I reach the top of the stairs, I continue down the hallway, following the loud music that I feel vibrating in my chest and bones. I groan, foretelling the whining ahead when I turned the music off.

When I pull the door open, I wasn't surprised. This had happened before. Nudge and Angel were hopping up and down on their beds, oblivious to me fuming in the doorway. They were screaming the lyrics to this song _Scream and Shout_ or something. The song name makes me laugh to myself as I think how ironic it is. I was just about to get their attention by jumping up and down and getting in their faces when I heard them scream _Britney bitch_. That makes me immediately head for the outlet and I yank the plug out. The music comes to an automatic halt and I practically burst.

"LANGUAGE GIRLS!" I take a deep breath before continuing. "We've been over this! Keep the music down, and _appropriate_." I stress the word appropriate. Angel giggles as she reads the list of choice words running through my head. The little devil. Reading that sends her into a fit of hysterics. Nudge looks at her confused and then guesses the obvious. That's what happens when you live with a mind reader.

The girls are still bursting with laughter so I silence them.

"QUIET!" They immediately stop and turn to me with big eyes full of fear.

"We're sorry Max! We were just bored!" Nudge insists.

"Yeah!" Angel agrees.

"So being bored consists of blowing out the rest of the familys' eardrums and swearing to the world?"

"Sure!" Angel says with a flashing white smile, oblivious to the sarcasm. I groan and turn out of their room and head to mine. I plop down on my bed, the royal purple bed spread flowing out around me. I hear breathing next to my shoulder and look to see a smirking Fang. I push him in the shoulder as he sits down next me. I sit up and say,

"Oh the life of a bird kid."

"Yep. And you love it and you know it," he says kissing my forehead. I sigh and lean my head against his shoulder.

"You're right."

**A little Fax! This is my first fanfic! Love? Hate? Constructive criticism is welcome! Please review! Sorry if it's short, do you want me to continue? REVEIW! I don't own Max Ride or Scream and Shout. ~Iris**


	2. Chapter 2

I moan and open my eyes.

"Wake up! WAKE UP WAKE UP!" Nudge squeals. "We're going shopping! Remember!" Angel squeals along with Nudge and they start jumping up and down in place.

"Fang!" I yell. He comes bolting into the room looking around worriedly. He spots me and the girls and smirks. "Get them out of here," I continue.

"Nope," he says, popping the p. "Come on girls, get the water," he grins.

"Oh, you wouldn't, remember who's in charge here?" His smile fades.

"Hurry up with it girls," he calls down the hallway, with a more urgent tone. "We wouldn't want to keep our mighty _leader_ waiting."

"UHGG!" I scream, ducking under the covers. "I don't want to go shopping!" I whine.

"But you don't really have a choice now, do you, Maxie?" Iggy says, poking his head in the door. I hear Gazzy snicker from down the hallway in Iggy's room and know they're up to no good.

"We're back!" Angel's sing songy voice informs.

"With the _ice, cold, water_," Nudge adds.

"Any last words Max?" Fangs asks. I just shriek and bury myself deeper in the covers.

"You've had your chance," Iggy says as I feel the water freeze me to the bones. I scream and throw the covers off and bolt down the hallway. I didn't bother to find a towel, I just race out the patio doors and to the pool. I open the doors to the sauna and run inside. Curling into a ball in the corner I yell,

"You idiots!" As the flock peers in. "What were you trying to do? Turn me into a popsicle?" I screech and glare at Fang in specific. He did, after all, encourage this nonsense.

"Well that got you up, didn't it?" he smirks for the billionth time.

"You better run, emo kid!" I get up and bolt out the door, following the sprinting Fang. We chase each other in circles around the rectangular pool, the Flock laughing on the sidelines. Once I'm on the side facing the house, and Fang on the side facing the woods, I'm jump into hyper speed and fly towards him. He doesn't know what hit him as I grab his shoulders and yank back, causing him to tumble into the pool. I laugh as I stand on the edge of the pool as Fang's head surfaces.

"Well played Maxie, well played," he says. Before I realize it, he's tickling my toes, making me laugh and lose my balance. I tumble forward into the pool and Fang jumps out of the way, nearly getting hit by me. I surface as the rest of the flock cannon balls into the pool. I screech and dive under, coming up behind Fang.

"GOT YOU!" I scream, jumping on his back. He falls into the pool and disappears. Oh god. Where was he? He's going to attack me! I turn in circles, looking frantically in the water with the Flock jumping and splashing around me. I'm just about to climb out of the pool when I feel hands clamp my arms and pin them behind me.

"Fang let go!" I struggle.

"Oh , but it's not Fang," a deep voice insures.

"MAX!" I hear Fang call from the other side of the pool.

"A-Ari?" I ask.

"Yep. And your coming back with me.


	3. Chapter 3

Earlier:

"_Yep. And you're coming back with me."_

"I'm not going anywhere with you, dirt bag!"

"You don't really have a choice," he says, brandishing knife that he holds to my neck as Fang nears.

"Let her go," Fang commands with venom in his voice. "I thought you were dead to, we were better off that way," he adds. The knife is pressed harder into my neck, causing a trickle of blood to slip down my neck. I flinch and struggle more.

"If anyone moves," Ari says, addressing the whole pool know. "I cut her throat. Got it?" Fang glares and the rest of the Flock start with wide eyes. "Good," he says nodding. "If you follow I kill her," and with that, he jumps from the pool into the air, flying me away from my Flock.

After we arrives miles and miles away from the Flock, I finally talk.

"Ari! I thought you were dead, along with Itex?!"

"Things happen," he replies, simply. "Itex is gone, but did you honestly think that was the _only_ _place like them_?" I think in Ari's arms, they were looped around my waist, feet dangling. It was very awkward.

"You mean, you work for another place? Did they revive you or something?" I was keeping conversation, but devising a plan in my head. The knife was no longer held against my neck, so that was a relief.

Ari's voice held a sad tone in it as he replied,

"No, I don't work for them. But they did bring me back to life," he sighed. "And I'm not kidnapping you, but you wouldn't have come any other way."

"So what is your definition of kidnapping?"

"Stay on topic Max! I only have so much time to warn you!" he warns with a rising tone. "They're probably tracking me right now."

"_Who_? Who is tracking you? And what do you need to warn me about?"

"The people who revived me, the FBI or something," he replies with a shrug. I gasp. The _FBI_? They work for the government! They have all the power and money they need?

"Oh my god Ari, they work for the government! Do you know how much power they have? Are they creating mutants?"

"I was raised in a lab practically! I'm technically seven years old! Do you think I knew this much?"

"No! I guess not._ But are they creating mutants_?"

"Yes! More than the School actually. Oh yeah," he starts, landing in a grassy clearing, still keeping a strong hold on my arms. All plans of escape have left my mind. "They're hunting you down. They want to kill you so you don't bring them down."

"Kill _me_? Are you taking me to them?" I ask struggling again.

"No, I already told you that Max. I escaped from them because I actually don't want something like the school to happen again. We were better off without it. I wish I wasn't an Eraser." I cease the struggling, it was useless, and I was kind of starting to believe Ari. I felt bad for him. He had his life stripped o\away at age seven. I mean, so did the Flock, but Ari couldn't go to school, or have normal friends. He looked to be 22 or something. It was sick. "All I'm asking Max, is that you stay out of sight, even though you just got a life. I don't want to lose the closest thing I have to a family." That practically brings tears to my eyes.

"I miss the little boy from the labs, following Jeb. I was always jealous of you, meaning that much to Jeb. He was my favorite white coat, if I had to pick. He was the only slightly nice one," I whisper.

"I was always jealous of you Max, Jeb put all his research and time into you. I was just the tagalong."

"How sweet," a different venomous voice says.

**Do you like it? I think I do. I'm truly sorry the chapters are soooo short. I play traveling hockey, which is 4-5 days of my week. It ends soon though. Do you like the cliff hanger? **_**Please review! **_**I don't Maximum Ride!(I shouldn't have to write that every time. I mean, it's not like I'm going to own it the next chapter, right?) ~Iris (That' snot my real name, can you guess it? The hints are in the name!)**


	4. Chapter 4

My head turned in the direction of the voice. He was an Eraser, (God they're so annoying!) but he was on all four feet. He resembled an actually werewolf, or least at least what I though they looked like. I looked over to Ari who had released me; he was in his fighting stance. His eyes held recognition.

"Ari, who is our guest here?" I mumbled in his direction.

"He works for them," he replied as our guest prowled forward.

"I'm so sorry to interrupt, but we need Max for a while," the new guy said. His politeness made me mad, I just wanted to jump on him or strangle him or something.

"And what do you plan to do with her in that time?" Ari countered.

"Nothing bad, just a few pokes, maybe so scratches," he says.

"Will you guys stop talking about me like I'm not here?" I interrupt.

"Oh sorry _sweetheart_," the unnamed guy starts. **(A/N: he he, sweetheart. I'm writing on V-day. I crack myself up.) **"But like I said, you're coming with me. You don't really have a choice," his voice holds mock sadness. "I'd hate to have to be the one to end your life, but some ones got to do it eventually. If you refuse, we can kill you now. No harm done. But this way we can run some tests." As if on cue, more mutants like him appear in the woods surrounding the clearing, creating an impassable circle around Ari and me. They actually vary in color, unlike Erasers, ranging from russet fur to grey fur. They were larger than usual, and words coming from their mouths were weirder than from the Erasers. It was even more unnatural than us original mutants. There was no real way to explain it.

As they neared, only ten feet away, I whispered to Ari,

"Up, up, and away?"

"Sounds good to me, but I'm sure they have some tricks up their sleeves, so be ready." I mentally and physically prepared myself.

"On three," I whispered. Ari and his gang, having attacked us so much, had learned the Flocks trick, and how we actually took off on one. It confused the _predators_. Ari nodded and I said,

"One!" just as the new Erasers lunged inward. We were pushing upward with large strokes, it was very difficult. Pulling up your whole body weight with your wings! It was serious business.

We were nearing thirty feet off the ground, ready to fly forward, when I felt a prick in my ankle. I looked down, only to see a tiny blot of blood. Those little (not really little, technically.) had pricked me with their claws. I turned to Ari, who had a look of worry on his face.

"What? It's just a scratch," I assured him.

"I told you they were tricky," he said as we flew forward.

"Why aren't they following us?"

"They can jump up to fifty feet, and there claws are full of a venom. It injects a stimulation that make that limb feel like lead. It ways you down, in the sky or on the ground. They just wait for you to collapse. They can't afoard to kill you when they need to. They could over power any one." My legs starts to feel heavy, just like I was informed. It felt like metal was swimming through my viens,


	5. Chapter 5

Earlier:

_It felt like metal was swimming through my veins…_

And I could feel myself decreasing.

"Ari!" I called. "I'm not going to make it much farther!" He looked over at me with worried eyes, and I continued. "Trust me!"

"I'll always trust you!"

"Even in a situation as crazy as this?" I replied with a smirk. Still cracking jokes. "I'm going to shoot into hyper speed, just so we get farther away before I collapse? Okay?" He looks at me like I'm crazy.

"Are you kidding me?" he asks aghast.

"Do we have much of a choice?" I looked down to see the prowling shapes of our predator, following at a leisurely pace below us.

"I guess not," he replies. I grab hold of his wrist, and he grabs on to mine. Now we're almost connected.

"If you start to slip, let go and then fly, that way your wings aren't ripped out from your back!" He nods vigorously, and I count. "One! Two! Three!" I flap as hard as I can, slowly gaining speed, until everything becomes a blur. I make sure we're above the trees, so I won't fly into one.

Ari's grip is still tight, so I continue to fly. My leg has almost gone completely numb, and I still decrease. Pushing myself even farther, black spotted my vision. I feel myself slipping, slipping until I saw no light.

"Come on Max. Wake up!" I feel wet splat my face. My head feels to be full of fuzz, not working correctly. Trying with all my might, I will my toes to move, my fingers to wiggle. The pain is more prominent now, covering every inch of my body. The voice sounds again, "Please," a quiet whisper this time. Blinking my eyes, the pain is completely there, and a let out a groan. I was never going to recover.

My surroundings surprised me, I was back home. _Home_! My eyes focused above me, Fang's dark eyes.

"Max!" he yelled with joy.

"F-Fang?" He smiled full on, and crushed his lips to mine. I felt good, maybe I could stay like this for a while.

**SOOOOOOOO! Sorry it's been so long! I know its short and I'll prob say that every chapter but there's nothing I can do! All rights go to James Patterson, anyways does my name IRIS SOUND LIKE A GUYS NAME? Do u really think I could ever own this book? I wouldn't be on fan fiction if I did! Well anyways REVIEW! Pretty please.**

**~Iris**


	6. Chapter 6

Fang pulled away, startled by his sudden show of great emotion.

"Max," he breathed. "What on earth happened?" His dark eyes glistened with barley contained happiness.

"Hold on," I glanced around our home. I was propped up on the couch in our living room. "Where's Ari?" Hurt flashed across Fang's eyes and he pulled away. It was covered by his emotionless face as he replied,

"He was gone when we found you."  
"Where did you find me?" He looks into my eyes again.

"A few miles away from here, actually," he gives me a questioning glance. "Why do you want to know where Ari is? He kidnapped you after all."

"He didn't, not really," I mumbled.

"Then define kidnapping Max!" His voice rose. "If you weren't kidnaped, then why did we find you unconscious in the middle of the forest? 'Cause I sure as hell want to know!" I involuntarily flinched away from him; I was still slightly shocked from today's events. At least, I thought it was today, I don't know how long I was out.

Fang must've noticed how unstable I was, because he started, "Sorry Max, I've just been extremely worried." I snuggled closer to his chest, and sighed.

"He only took me because there was no other way to get me to come with him. So I guess it was kidnapping in a way." Fang smirked. "But he was warning me."

"Warning you about what?"

"Fang, the school may be gone, but not all the 'bad guys' are gone." His brows furrow as he ponders the idea.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, the School is gone, and something took its place. They're creating more mutants."

"Do you know who it is?"

"Well yeah, but-"

"But what?"

"It's the FBI." I check to see his reaction. His emotionless mask goes down, and shock covers his features.

"What the hell? They work for the government!" he eyes glint with confusion, maybe rage even. "And they work cases, I mean they do have scientists working for them, but majorly, they aren't scientists."

"That's what I'm wondering," I think out loud. "What if it's an inside thing, only the scientists, not the agents or whatever they are."

"It's possible." He scratches his eyebrow, suggesting that he's think hard. "But abo-"

"MAX!" A voice cuts in, and I instantly recognize it as Angel's. I look up towards the door way, only to see a blur advancing towards me. I let out as screech as I'm pummeled by Angel, Nudge, and Gazzy. Iggy's too old for hugs, but he's grinning in the doorway, his sightless eyes focused in my direction.

"I missed you guys," I say hugging them back.

"What happened?"

"Are you okay?"

"Tell us!"

"Geez guys!" I start. "I've got some interesting news." Their attentive eyes meet mine ,and I take a breath. "We might just have to save the world again."

**SOOOOOOO! Long time, no talk. Sorry, I had standardized testing. What do you think. I NEED 2 reviewers to continue, because that's the only thing driving me to write this story. Is this chapter better than the others? **

**~Iris**


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